In the green industry, wasted time equals lost profits. In essence, the more time your crews spend to complete a job, the less money your company brings in for the work.
So, working fast means earning more – right? Not necessarily. One concern about pushing crews to beat the clock is the possible drop in quality associated with speedy landscaping. This loss of aesthetic appeal often associated with hurried efforts can actually lose you money by lowering customer satisfaction.
“It is a delicate balance and sometimes doesn’t work in our favor,” explained Tom Heaviland, owner, Heaviland Enterprises, Vista, Calif. “The key is prioritizing work each week so that the time is spent on and in those areas needing attention. Avoiding unnecessary tasks saves time and allows the crew to concentrate on the important things which have the greatest impact.”
Bob Grover, president, Pacific Landscape Management, Hillsboro, Ore., agreed, noting that there never seems to be enough time to do a job perfectly. But he explained that his crews work on a tension system – with opposite, balanced objectives of quality and efficiency.
“What I believe is the magic is that you have equal and opposing objectives to do a job within a time limit and to do a job well. You have to deal with quality and efficiency – equally,” he affirmed.
Grover’s crews, like many others, work in terms of job costing. Each job is assigned in terms of man-hours required to complete the work in a way that is pleasing to the customer. Staying within the budgeted hours – and, thus, striking a balance between quality and efficiency – is the key to boosting your bottom line.
“You’re not as efficient if you’re focusing too much on quality; and you’re not producing enough quality if you’re too centered on efficiency,” Grover stated. “Hence, the balanced tension between both goals.”
Grover recommended using customer feedback as a motivation for crew members.
“We are always sharing the customers’ comments and concerns with our crews,” Grover noted. “The foremen and the crew hear the complaints – and compliments – of customers. We have continual follow-up with our customers, and we are very diligent about passing along the things we hear from them.”
Passing compliments along is especially helpful for the crews at Lueders Cos., insisted Mike Lueders, owner of the Needham, Mass.-based company.
“We share all the compliments with the guys,” Lueders noted. “That has been an amazingly simple motivation for them. If we forget to read customer comments at our meetings, the guys will come ask us about them.”
The author is Assistant Editor – Internet for Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at aanderson@lawnandlandscape.com.